THE FARMERS CABINET. 



VOL. I 



We beg leave to recommend to the atten- 

 tion of our readers, the following paper on 

 this subject, furnished the editor of the Gene- 

 see Farmer by E. Wilbur. 



The plan he recommends is certainly wor- 

 thy of trial; it will cost but a trifle, and no 

 doubt produce in return, a hundred fold for 

 the labor and expense devoted to the experi- 

 ment. Should any of our readers make the 

 experiment, we should be gratified if they 

 would forward the results to us for publica- 

 tion. 



As there has been considerable said in thy 

 paper on the subject of irrigation, it may per- 

 haps by some be thought unnecessary to say 

 any thing further on the subject; but, as it is 

 one of considerable importance, perhaps there 

 cannot well be too much said; and the scar- 

 city of fodder for the two past years will be a 

 sufficient excuse for what I may offer on the 

 subject. 



In the first place, it is my opinion that if 

 the water in the state of New York should all 

 be used to the best advantage, which is now 

 useless, or perhaps, I might say worse than 

 useless, there might be an addition of hay 

 through that means that would be worth one 

 million of dollars, and perhaps more. This 

 calculation to some may look wild, but it is 

 nevertheless true, for there are but few farms 

 but what have some streams running through 

 them some part of the year — some little 

 swales where water runs for a considerable 

 time in the wet part of the spring. Now all 

 this may be used to advantage where the 

 ground descends enough to take them from 

 tneir natural channel. Do not be scared for 

 fear it will require some work, but try it and 

 be satisfied for yourselves. I have tried it 

 and know it to true. I once bought a small 

 farm in Yates county, on which there was 

 scarely an acre of natural meadow ground. 

 Its former oocupant did not cut any hay on 

 the farm, but used to mow around the neigh- 

 borhood on shares wherever he could get a 

 chance; and so I had to do the first year, un- 

 til 1 ploughed the ground and seeded it, for 

 it was as dry and barren almost as a road; I 

 mean the piece which 1 selected for my mea- 

 dow, of perhaps about seven acres, on the 

 lower side of my farm. The farm all descend- 

 ed considerably to the east, and the object of 

 selecting that place for my meadow was that 

 I might get some water on it in wet times. 

 The road run up and down the hill on the 

 side of my meadow piece, and nearly through 

 the middle of it there run a little swale about 

 the same direction, perhaps in some places 

 two rods wide, and in others not so wide. 



Well, some may say, what of all thisl — 

 What has the road and this little dry swale 

 to do with your meadow? for the water did 

 not run there perhaps half of the year. I 

 have been pretty particular in describing the 

 situation, in order to show the effect of ma- 

 king the best use of water when we have a 

 chance, and that it is not always necessary 

 to have a double stream in order to raise 

 heavy hay. Well, now for the management. — 

 After I had got my piece of land seeded for 

 meadow, the next thing was to make use of 

 the water, which I did in the following sim- 

 ple and easy manner: 



I took my team and plough in the spring 

 of the year, when the water run pretty freely 

 in this swale, when I thought I could carry 

 the water on the highest ground in the mea- 

 dow; after starting a few paces, I stopt for 

 the water to follow, and observe the current, 

 so as not to get so high that the water would 

 not follow, or so low as to give too much cur- 

 rent. In this way I carried it on to the high- 

 est and dryest part of the ground, and then let 

 it spread over as much as it would. But lit- 

 tle more needed to be done to the ditch than 

 to make the furrow and clean it out a little 

 with a hoe. I made several other furrows from 

 the swale below the first one in the same 

 manner, to carry the water that dreans off in- 

 to the swale again. In this way I loose but 

 very little. 



Almost every body has noticed, that in the 

 spring of the year, when the snow is going 

 off, or after a smart shower, that the ditches 

 by the road side will be filled with water, 

 and if the road runs a little up hill, the wash 

 of the road will run off, and generally into 

 some swamp or hollow, where it does but lit- 

 tle if any good. To prevent this waste, I 

 made several furrows from the road side to 

 carry the wash on to the meadow. 



And what was the effect produced by these 

 few furrows, which at first did not perhaps 

 cost me more than a day's work] Why, the 

 effect was such, that it paid me an hundred 

 fold for the seven acres after the first year. — 

 When the sod got well made so as to grow 

 thick, it produced for several years while I 

 owned it, from two and a half to three tons of 

 hay to the acre; and the man that I sold it 

 to, told me last year that he hardly ever saw 

 such grass; there was hardly room on the 

 ground to make the hay after it was mowed. 

 Now if people could generally be made to 

 believe this, and to pay attention to it, it 

 would soon be found that my assertion was 

 not very extravagant in regard to the addi- 

 tional quantity of hay that would result from 

 it. But perhaps my brother farmers are so 

 taken up with the political slang of the day, 

 that they will do as they always have done, 

 nesrlect that which most concerns them for 



